More ways to save money

There are many reasons to save money. I'll mention the main ones then give you some ideas on how to save thousands a year!

If you are in your twenties you can save money for a rent deposit on a house you want to move into, a deposit you want to put down on a house, driving lessons or a car, holidays (pension dare i say it), investments etc If you are older you may have different wants and needs such as debt issues or the possibility of buying a holiday home. The most important reason, in my book, for saving some extra cash on the side is for a rainy day. Not a bad weather day, just a bad day when something unforeseen happens and you need some extra cash. You will be thankful that you saved money, believe me!

Ways to save money

A good way to start saving money and to start saving small is to start saving a little bit of your monthly wage packet and set it aside in an ISA. An ISA is an individual Savings Account. The beauty of an ISA is that it allows one to save up to 3k a year, you get interest on it ( normally a good rate) and the interest is TAX FREE. 10 years on- 30K saved up and you are getting 1.5k a year for free and more importantly TAX FREE!

Ways to save- analyse your lifestyle

GYMS- If you are a member of a gym read this. If not, skip it and go onto the next section.
If you have a monthly membership and do not use it think about getting rid of it. Even if you do use it consider the options. Some Gym memberships are £50 per month. That money can be spent on good home gym equipment enabling the individual concerned to work out at home. If they didnt want this then they would have lots of spare cash to go to the local swimming baths, park ( walk, run, play football/basketball, tennis etc). Dancing is also cheap- you can do it at a club, at home or at a class. Either way dancing is still cheaper than the £600 a year that some gym memberships cost!

BOOZE- If you drink start thinking about the amount you drink, when and how much it dents your pocket. If its only a bottle of wine or a few cans in the evening you are doing well. However if you are drinking at posh bars or are a regular at a pub then it could seriously damage your bank balance. Consider buying drinks from the off licence or from the local supermarket- there are many savings to be had and if you invite your mates over it can be more sociable than screaming over music in an overpriced, overcrowded club! Better yet, give up drinking or just drink occasionally- you'll save a packet!

CIGARETTES- Smoking will kill you and murder your finances. I still can't get over the price of them- a large chuck of which goes to the government. Think about cutting down or stopping if you are serious about saving money/getting rich.

CARS- In most circumstances it is cheaper not to have one. In some you may have to have one to get to work. If you do, research where it is possible to get the cheapest cars- dont buy new ones if you dont need it- and do your research on insurance- look at my earlier entries on this one!

FOOD- most people wont believe how much they actually spend on food- whether that be at the supermarket or more likely a cheeky sandwich/macdonalds or quick option for lunch. If you are spending 3 pounds a day on food- take out food that is- then you are spending £84 a month. That can be radically reduced by making food at home the night before and taking it with you to work. Better yet, starve. Joke! If you dont like cooking real food- start- you'll save lots of money cutting the shit out of your diet- pasta,lentils, rice, cereals and most fruit and veg can be picked it quite cheaply if you shop at markets and supermarkets- ignore the snazzily designed shit- its normally overpriced and full of chemicals.

HOUSING- live in a cheap city. If you have to have a house in London or another expensive city consider house-sharing. You'll cut your rent down significantly. Better yet move to a cheaper place and commute or live with your parents. Ignore the last comment if you cant stand your parents.

Sorry if its been patronising- all the above ways will save you lots of money

Ways to save money and grow richer

Most people assume that people get rich from a big income- either through owning a sucessful business or from being having a big salary. That is partially true but it is by no means the entire story,...

When I was younger I used to work in a bank. I worked within the credit department. It was a dull job lacking any real responsibility but it gave me something alot more valuable than the 6 pounds an hour I was on- it gave me a lesson on personal finance ( one that I'm now going to pass onto you-for free of course!).

Part of my job looked at peoples' incomes, their debt and their outgoings. There were some people that were in serious debt, some that ignored it and some that were referred, mainly to the Citizens Advice Bureau ( a useful place to go as they offer free advice on getting out of debt). I took a particular interest in this part of my job, I could get a glimse into how the nation handled their money.

Patterns that I had expected to emerge did not, I was shocked at how 'rich' people ( people with large incomes) did not have a healthy personal balance sheet.
For example, there were some individuals earning 100K plus with debts of 100K plus, excluding their enormous mortgage payments. Even though they were on a large wage it was getting eaten away- they were taxed 40k and were barely making it through the month- the interest paymentd on their outstanding loans was mounting higher and higher. When I looked down to the bottom of their cash flow sheet I saw that out of their income and mine I had more money at the end of the month- and I was on £6 an hour!!! This surprised me. It may surprise you. After reading more you won't be surprised..

Financial awareness comes by irradicating some of the myths that circulate- some common others not. It is through this knowledge you can gain wealth and be financially secure.
In improving your financial intelligence/awareness I urge the reader to be constantly aware, ask yourself questions when an interaction with someone else involves money: If someone comes up to you out-of-the-blue, for no reason, in an odd setting, dropping the name of a product ( like door to door, mail shots, via email) they may be on the lookout for an easy sale- don't be a target. If you are buying a product- check the market, if in doubt question. Question if the 'financial advisers' are on commission, question whether the salesman at the carpark is on commission, question (maybe best to question yourself)if you can get the product cheaper online- either on an online shop or via an auction site like ebay. Don't be made into a fool- don't make them rich and you poorer. This argument is all the more relevant today when anyone can be offered a loan- I saw this with my own eyes- people that were over their heads in borrowings were being offered loans- and I was the guy that was supposed to sell them ( I was only at the bank 4 days!). Once again, there are many people/firms that will want to take your money. Another myth- all banks are good. Nope. They are a business and all they care about is making money for themselves and their shareholders- if that means screwing you over and (for example) giving you a high rate loan, secured on your house, that you can't really afford, they'll do it.*.

If you don't question your finances could end up like the 'rich' peoples did- they believed in the myth that if you have a 'good' (high paying salaried job)job and a big house you are rich-this is only true if you have the financial awareness to take care of your finances! You can start this by questioning. Do your homework- read this blog and other books on finance to help yourself in the future- Invest in yourself!

*Carry on reading this entry and all my entries to find out how to take control back to you.

On earning and career choice- what job do you want and why

There are two major sub-categories in Earning money. One is to be an employee and the other is to be an employer. Put another way it is the choice of being employed or being self-employed, a worker or an owner. Most people opt for being a worker so for now I'll focus on this.

I'd recommend picking a job you enjoy, that way you can be assured that you will stick at it. If you want to earn lots you need to work- not for a few weeks or months but for years- that's the way to earn and save lots of cash. Now, if you enjoy earning a high amount of money and aren't fussed about your job I admire you for that and if you are dedicated to earning lots if you don't mind what job you do- you will earn lots!

Earning and picking a career path are linked to your goals ,values, how quickly you want to get rich and your personality. For example-Do you value traditional education?- Do you want to use specialised knowledge in an environment where it is called upon everyday and you don't mind hard work? If you like drawing- Design/Architecture- Architects can earn well!
The human body?- Medicine- GPs + Consultants earn lots of money as well as many in the NHS
Numbers and maths- Investment banking, Financial management, Auditing, Accounting

Alternatively if you enjoy working in organisations, like climbing the ladder, are hard-working you can earn well in private companies, especially if you get high up, like becoming a CEO(Chief Executive Officer) or (Manging Director)MD.

If you like computers and spend lots of time developing your skills you can earn lots in IT. IT skills are needed and wanted by lots of companies. They will pay good money for Software developers, Technicians, Web developers etc If you like this idea then learn as much as you can and get that job you want

What I find that is imperative to work out is what do you enjoy? What are you good at? Super salaries matter but even if you only earn 10-20k I will explain ways to increase your wealth. That comes in further entries on creating wealth...

Early starts to getting rich

There are many ways of getting rich.

Inheriting money is common , although spending/wasting money that is inheriting is also common. This is where financial intelligence is needed. This will be spoke about more in the blog but will not be focused on in this entry.

Another way of getting rich quickly is through marrying someone rich. You can marry a self-made man/woman or marry someone who has inherited their wealth- either way focus on financial intelligence and awareness as this is the key to staying rich. If you don't understand the money you are have then you don't know the true value of it! Money is valuable but the correct knowledge and awareness is invaluable- or put better- priceless! (Keep returning to this blog as this will help you in your efforts!)

What I'd like now to focus on is the ways that a person who hasn't been lucky enough to marry or be born into a rich family can increase their chances of, well, increasing their own wealth.
Earning. Saving. Investing.

In the UK there are many ways to save on transport costs.
If you want to get rich a good place to start is saving money and one way money leaves our pocket is through unnecessarily spending extra on travelling.

In Birmingham (uk) if you work off peak hours you can get a travel pass valid on West Midland buses and trains for 2 weeks for only £16.80. This isn’t valid before 9.30am so for those that work 9-5 it won’t be worth getting. However, if you travel to the city centre and back every day after 9:30 and before 3:30pm it could save you £22.40- well worth getting.

For the under 25s you can purchase a Young Persons rail card for 20 pounds. This entitles you to 33% off on all train journeys. I cannot stress this enough, if you travel on trains you should buy it- it could save you hundreds of pounds in the long term! Other railcards are available from trains stations around the UK. Saving money amounts to more money in the future if invested! Save,save,save!

For those that use cars- if you want to save money its best not to use them! If you have to buy your insurance by using sites like www.confused.com that will compare lots of different insurance deals for you, easy!